Critical facilities in Maine have power, many residents don't

YORK, Maine — Tens of thousands of Central Maine Power customers in York County are still without electricity after Hurricane Sandy stormed in Monday night.

While CMP has restored power to more than 110,000 customers since the storm hit Maine, in York County, 18,825 customers are still without power. The company reported 46,000 homes and businesses are still without power out of more than 159,000 who lost it at some point during the storm, primarily those in the state's southern and coastal areas. The company has increased its field workforce to nearly 1,200 with additional line workers, tree crews and support personnel.

“The priorities for today (Tuesday) will be safety and assessment, and we'll begin restoration in many areas,” John Carroll, spokesman for Central Maine Power, said in a public statement.

By late Monday afternoon, CMP restored power to all critical facilities such as hospitals, schools, and public safety buildings.

“We started the day just focused de-energizing downed equipment for public safety and getting the roads cleared,” said Tom DePeter, director of electric distribution for CMP, in a public statement. “Beyond that, our crews worked safely, they got the backbone of our distribution system back in operation, and they've just about cut the number of outages in half from this morning's count. We made a strong start on the restoration, and we're looking forward to making more progress with a full day in tomorrow.”

Customers in the southern and coastal counties of York and Cumberland were hit hardest in Maine. Driving along Route 1 South Tuesday morning, residents and visitors in Wells saw businesses and homes without power and traffic signals in darkness. Tree branches, debris and seaweed lined the streets, with orange, red and yellow leaves scattered about, saying goodbye to fall foliage. Once drivers hit Ogunquit and York, power seemed to be on for most customers along Route 1.

The effects of Hurricane Sandy hurt Wells more than Ogunquit and York, with 18 percent of CMP customers still without power as of 5 p.m. Fourteen percent of York customers were in the dark, while just 2 out of 2,609 customers were without power in Ogunquit.

Southern Maine roads were generally quiet Tuesday, with residents back at work and children in school. Some people took to the coast to watch the waves smack along the rocks and step on the squishy seaweed on the sidewalks, while viewing the remnants of the storm.

Blue skies fought through the clouds by mid-afternoon, proving Hurricane Sandy was on her way out of the area. Nubble Light continued to be blocked off until 2 p.m. because of high tide, but has since reopened. York Police said the following roads were still closed in York as of Tuesday evening: Mill Ridge Farm Road, Moody Lane, a portion of Ogunquit Road, Cabot Cove Road and River Road. A portion of Godfrey Cove Road is passable, but does have a tree covering part of the road.

For more information on outages in southern Maine, visit cmpco.com.

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